Houston Ship Channel bridge project costs, timeline still unclear Originally projected at $1 billion, HCTRA admits, ‘We don’t know’ Tags: Troubled Ship Channel bridge project HOUSTON – The future use and price tag of a billion-dollar ship channel project remain unclear as a new group redesigns the bridge to address safety concerns raised more than two years ago. The Houston Ship Channel Bridge was well underway when a pedestrian bridge in South Florida collapsed, killing six people in 2018. The designer for the Florida bridge also designed the Houston project but was removed after the deadly accident. Since then, the project’s status has been slow to evolve after an audit conducted by COWI North America, a Canadian company, found potential design flaws in March 2019.